In The News

Pakistan Taliban: Peshawar School Attack Leaves 135 Dead

Aamer Ahmed Khan December 16, 2014
Pakistan Taliban attacked an army-run school in Peshawar leaving near 150 dead, most children. Many of the students were children of military personnel. A Taliban spokesman suggested the attack was in retaliation for hundreds of recent deaths of Taliban fighters in North Waziristan and the Khyber area, reports BBC News. Some in Pakistan’s military and intelligence services have regarded...

China Offers to Help Iraq Defeat Sunni Extremists

Najmeh Bozorgmehr and Lucy Hornby December 15, 2014
China has the world’s third most powerful military force – and has offered to help Iraq combat Islamic State extremists. China’s foreign minister extended the offer to Iraq’s foreign minister during a September UN antiterrorism meeting, reports Financial Times. “China is the largest foreign investor in Iraq’s oil sector and stands to lose the billions its state-owned groups have ploughed into the...

CIA “Torture” Report: The 54 Countries That Will Be Worried By Controversial Revelations

Adam Withnall December 10, 2014
The US Senate Intelligence Committee released a 500-page summary to a report that outlines a six-year investigation of enhanced interrogation techniques described as violation of international law. The Bush administration deemed measures proposed by contract psychologists as lawful after the September 11 attacks on four airlines, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon: “Nevertheless, such...

77 Chinese Accused in Cyber Bust

Samwel Born Maina and Maureen Kakah December 5, 2014
Kenyan police arrested 77 Chinese nationals on charges cyber-surveillance. About 70 people lived in the home and traveled to the country on tourist visas. “The Chinese ambassador to Kenya has been summoned to the Foreign Affairs ministry to explain how his nationals were running such a huge centre,” reports the Daily Nation in Kenya. “The Chinese were discovered after a fire broke out in the...

An Afghan Dilemma for China and India

Harsh V. Pant December 4, 2014
As most western troops withdraw from Afghanistan, the new nation’s President Ashraf Ghani is promising reform, development and an end to poverty. But he needs help and has also quickly reached out to Pakistan, China and India – expecting Afghanistan’s neighbors to work for lasting stability, explains Harsh V. Pant, author and professor of international relations. The two major powers, China and...

Nuclear Talks, Glutted Markets Offer Iranian Economy Little Relief

Keith Johnson November 25, 2014
The deadline for an agreement for Iran to wind down its alleged nuclear weapons programs has been extended for seven months. Continued sanctions for Iran combined with low oil prices mean economic pain for Iranians and could threaten moderates who support an agreement and better ties with the West: “Unwinding limitations on Iranian oil exports will take time; it will take even longer to juice oil...

Iran’s Nuclear Smuggling Legacy: Finders Keepers?

Leonard S. Spector November 18, 2014
November 24 is the deadline for Iran concluding a deal to limit its suspect nuclear program. “A final agreement is expected, among its key provisions, to authorize Iran to operate a small enrichment facility and to provide the IAEA-enhanced inspection rights in that country,” notes Leonard S. Spector, based at the James Martin Center of Nonproliferation Studies. “Since illicitly acquired goods...